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1467965

registered interest
date	06/06/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have prepared a draft list of priority categories for “legal but harmful” content for (1) adults, and (2) children, which is due to be set out in secondary legislation under the proposed Online Safety Bill.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL668
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2022 answer text <p>Priority harmful content to children and adults will be set out in secondary legislation once the Secretary of State has been granted the relevant powers to make regulations for priority harmful content under the Bill.</p><p>Her Majesty’s Government has a duty to consult Ofcom on the proposed priority categories of harmful content before designating them in secondary legislation.</p><p>Setting out the priority harms in secondary legislation will allow Her Majesty’s Government to respond to changing risks to children and adults online, ensuring that new, currently unforeseen harms can be dealt with as they emerge.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL669 question first answered 16/06/2022 11:45:40 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1467966

registered interest
date	06/06/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when companies in scope of the Online Safety Bill will be provided with a draft list of priority categories for “legal but harmful” content for (1) adults, and (2) children.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL669
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2022 answer text <p>Priority harmful content to children and adults will be set out in secondary legislation once the Secretary of State has been granted the relevant powers to make regulations for priority harmful content under the Bill.</p><p>Her Majesty’s Government has a duty to consult Ofcom on the proposed priority categories of harmful content before designating them in secondary legislation.</p><p>Setting out the priority harms in secondary legislation will allow Her Majesty’s Government to respond to changing risks to children and adults online, ensuring that new, currently unforeseen harms can be dealt with as they emerge.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL668 question first answered 16/06/2022 11:45:40 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1467967

registered interest
date	06/06/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the definitions provided in the Online Safety Bill for (1) journalistic content, (2) content of democratic importance, and (3) news publisher content.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL670
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2022 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Government is confident that the protections for recognised news publishers, journalistic content, and content of democratic importance are technically feasible and that the Bill’s definition of the relevant terms is appropriate.</p><p>Recognised news publishers’ content will be exempted from platforms’ new online safety duties. This means tech companies will be under no legal obligation to apply their new safety duties to that content. The criteria under which an organisation qualifies as a publisher are set in the Bill. When drafting these criteria, Her Majesty’s Government has taken significant care to ensure established news publishers are captured, while limiting the opportunity for others to benefit.</p><p>Category 1 service providers will also need to have clear policies relating to their treatment of journalistic content and content of democratic importance, and to ensure these are enforced consistently. Ofcom will set out further details in codes of practice about how companies can comply with these duties.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL671 question first answered 16/06/2022 11:45:05 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1467968

registered interest
date	06/06/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what technical feasibility assessment they have undertaken regarding the (1) journalistic, (2) news publisher, and (3) content of democratic importance, exemptions set out in the Online Safety Bill.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2022 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Government is confident that the protections for recognised news publishers, journalistic content, and content of democratic importance are technically feasible and that the Bill’s definition of the relevant terms is appropriate.</p><p>Recognised news publishers’ content will be exempted from platforms’ new online safety duties. This means tech companies will be under no legal obligation to apply their new safety duties to that content. The criteria under which an organisation qualifies as a publisher are set in the Bill. When drafting these criteria, Her Majesty’s Government has taken significant care to ensure established news publishers are captured, while limiting the opportunity for others to benefit.</p><p>Category 1 service providers will also need to have clear policies relating to their treatment of journalistic content and content of democratic importance, and to ensure these are enforced consistently. Ofcom will set out further details in codes of practice about how companies can comply with these duties.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay grouped question UIN HL670 question first answered 16/06/2022 11:45:05 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1441638

registered interest
date	15/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Pornography: Internet
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how the proposed Online Safety Bill will address the availability of (1) violent, or (2) abusive, pornography online.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL6992
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2022 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 March. The Bill will require user-to-user and search services to tackle illegal content on their sites.</p><p>Revenge and extreme pornography will be listed as priority illegal offences in the Online Safety Bill. This means that companies will need to have proportionate systems and processes in place to seek out and remove this type of content or face regulatory enforcement action.</p><p>Providers of services which are likely to be accessed by children will also have additional duties to protect children from harmful and age-inappropriate content such as pornography, even if it is not illegal. There will also be specific duties on providers which publish pornographic content on their services to prevent children from accessing that content.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 28/03/2022 15:20:07 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1441639

registered interest
date	15/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Pornography: Internet
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of UK children who have accessed online pornography since their decision not to bring Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 into force in October 2019.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL6993
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2022 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill will go further than the Digital Economy Act 2017, protecting children from a broader range of harmful content on a wider range of services. The Digital Economy Act was criticised for not covering social media companies, through which a considerable quantity of pornographic material is accessible, and which research suggests children use to access pornography. The online safety framework will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video-sharing platforms, fora and search engines.</p><p>HM Government has commissioned research to build the evidence base on harms to children online. This will review the prevalence and impact of a wide range of harmful content online, including pornography, to ensure that the Online Safety Bill provides comprehensive protections for children.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 28/03/2022 15:16:03 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1441640

registered interest
date	15/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Pornography: Internet
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers the proposed Online Safety Bill will give Ofcom (1) to investigate adult services' implementation of robust age verification, and (2) to take enforcement action where necessary.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL6994
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2022 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill, introduced to Parliament on 17 March 2022, places duties on providers which publish or place pornographic content on their services to prevent children from accessing that content. The Online Safety Bill will not mandate the use of specific technologies to comply with their new duties, as it is vital that the Bill is future-proofed. However, it is expected that companies may use age verification technologies to prevent children from accessing online pornography.</p><p>The Bill will also give Ofcom powers to investigate potential non-compliance with the new regime, for example a failure to sufficiently prevent children from accessing pornographic content. This includes information-gathering powers. Ofcom will also be able to require individuals to attend an interview when investigating possible non-compliance.</p><p>The Bill also provides Ofcom with robust enforcement powers to take action when platforms do not comply with their obligations, including requiring improvements, imposing substantial fines, and pursuing business disruption measures (including blocking).</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 28/03/2022 15:19:40 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1343472

registered interest
date	05/07/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Low Incomes and Social Security Benefits
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that broadband internet access is affordable for people in receipt of low incomes and benefits.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL1727
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2021 answer text <p>A range of broadband social tariff packages are now available in the market to support those on low incomes or who receive specific benefits. BT, for example, recently launched a Home Essentials package which will provide fibre and voice services to those on Universal Credit starting at £15 per month. Virgin, Hyperoptic and other providers are offering similar packages to assist households on low incomes. Between them, these products are available to 99% of households across the country.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government continues to encourage more fixed-line providers to introduce a social tariff and we will continue to monitor the provision in the market. We will also continue to work with Ofcom, which has a statutory duty to review the affordability of telecommunication services, to do this.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In December, the Government strengthened Ofcom's consumer protection rules, to ensure that consumers can access the right information to make informed decisions about new services, have stronger contract rights, and switch providers more easily. Ofcom also published its Vulnerability Guide in July 2020, setting out how the sector should support vulnerable households struggling to pay their bills.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL1728 question first answered 09/07/2021 12:53:13 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1343473

registered interest
date	05/07/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Social Tariffs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to monitor the effectiveness of social tariffs offered by broadband providers.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL1728
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2021 answer text <p>A range of broadband social tariff packages are now available in the market to support those on low incomes or who receive specific benefits. BT, for example, recently launched a Home Essentials package which will provide fibre and voice services to those on Universal Credit starting at £15 per month. Virgin, Hyperoptic and other providers are offering similar packages to assist households on low incomes. Between them, these products are available to 99% of households across the country.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government continues to encourage more fixed-line providers to introduce a social tariff and we will continue to monitor the provision in the market. We will also continue to work with Ofcom, which has a statutory duty to review the affordability of telecommunication services, to do this.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In December, the Government strengthened Ofcom's consumer protection rules, to ensure that consumers can access the right information to make informed decisions about new services, have stronger contract rights, and switch providers more easily. Ofcom also published its Vulnerability Guide in July 2020, setting out how the sector should support vulnerable households struggling to pay their bills.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL1727 question first answered 09/07/2021 12:53:13 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1342064

registered interest
date	29/06/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Digital Technology: Disadvantaged
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to increase digital inclusivity, and (2) to address the digital divide.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL1556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>The Government’s 10 Tech Priorities include building a tech savvy nation where everyone has a base level of cyber and digital skills.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Training is available for adults wishing to acquire digital skills. The Government has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government is tackling the digital divide for adults with learning disabilities through our £2.5m Digital Lifeline fund. This fund is providing tablets, data and free digital support to over 5,000 people with learning disabilities, enabling them to connect with friends and family, and access services and support groups, promoting overall well being.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital connectivity. It has been an important component in allowing children to learn remotely. Over 1.3 million laptops and tablets have been distributed to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £400 million government investment to support access to remote education and online social care services.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Government has worked closely with industry throughout the pandemic and agreed a set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators to support consumers during the Covid-19 period. Providers have committed to working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill as a result of Covid-19 to ensure that they are treated fairly and appropriately supported. There are also social tariffs in place that provide low cost landline and broadband services for those on means tested benefits.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/07/2021 15:06:41 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick